The victim of a paedophile revealed how the abuser forced her to keep quiet by threatening to kill her mother.

Yesterday, the woman watched as former Cowley BMW worker David Millard, 50, was jailed for seven years for molesting her over a 14-year period.

The victim, who did not want her name to be published, described how the grandfather-of-one manipulated her into thinking her family would blame her for the abuse if she spoke out.

The woman said: "He said he would kill my mum if I told anyone.

"Then he would tell everyone it was my fault and they would all believe it was.

"If you are told that from a young age, you do believe it. I did not want anyone knowing, I was made to feel I was in the wrong.

"When I stood up in front of the court it was when I realised it wasn't my fault. After the case I felt so relieved."

She added the abuse had left her unable to leave the house on her own and had caused her severe depression, resulting in three suicide attempts.

And she said on one occasion Millard abused her as "punishment" for something she did wrong.

She said: "I just don't feel anything towards him now, it is as if he doesn't exist.

"He has robbed me of the whole of my childhood. I can't ever get that back. I would have liked him to get a year for every year he has taken off me.

"He once had me up the wall by my throat when I said I was going to tell my mum. I used to cry and he would tell me I was silly."

The woman eventually told her mother about two years ago.

She said: "As soon as I told her, her face changed. You could see she hated him."

Millard, a former soldier from Birmingham, had denied seven counts of indecent assault but was convicted after a trial at Oxford Crown Court last month. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on a further charge of attempted rape, which will remain on the court file.

Adrian Amer, defending, said Millard's record in the Army was "exemplary" and he had no previous convictions.

Judge Julian Hall sentenced Millard, formerly of Bicester, to seven years' jail, put him on the sex offenders' register for life, banned him from contacting his victim, banned him from contact with any other child under 16 while unsupervised and ordered that he have no pictures of children in his house without permission from their parents.

Sgt Katy Barrow-Grint, of Thames Valley Police, said: "I hope the sentencing means she will be able to start to rebuild her life."

  • The mother of David Millard's victim has described the guilt she felt for not being able to protect her daughter.

She said: "Millard has ruined my daughter's life.

"He abused all her trust in men. I do hate him.

"Even when she went to the police there was a lot more I did not know.

The woman, who sat alongside her daughter in court, added he initially tried to dismiss her daughter's accusations by claiming she must have misinterpreted his affection.

She said: "He could be a very nasty man. I feel guilty for exposing my daughter (to the danger).

"That is the worst thing. You feel as if it is all your fault."